Police: Manassas Man Dies Sunday After Route 28 Crash

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A Woodbridge man is facing drunk driving charges after his car struck a utility pole early Sunday on Route 28, leading to the death of his passenger, according to the Prince William County police.

Police identified the passenger Monday as Ellery Darnell Penn, 56, of Manassas. He and the driver, Carroll Arness Smith, 45, were flown from the accident scene to an area hospital, where Penn died as a result of his injuries later on Sunday, the police said.

Smith, of 13219 Nassau Drive in Woodbridge, has been charged with driving under the influence and driving on a revoked license, the police said, and additional charges are pending. Smith was released from custody on a summons, and his next date in court is scheduled for Sept. 10.

Investigators from the Police Department’s Crash Investigation Unit responded at 5:45 a.m. Sunday to the scene of the single-vehicle crash at Centreville Road (Route 28) and Rugby Road, in the Yorkshire area north of Manassas Park. They determined that Smith, the driver of a 1996 Infiniti I30t, was traveling south on Centreville Road when the car left the roadway and struck the utility pole, a police report said.

Smith remained hospitalized Monday and is expected to recover, the police said. The crash investigatords determined that he had been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the crash, the police report said.